thejournal Traditionof predictive western astrology Number 1 Autumn 2008 www.thetraditionjournal.com thejournal Traditionof predictive western astrology Number 1 Autumn 2008 Cost: 5€ EDITORIAL CONTENTS Beginnings Editorial 03 Choosing the name Tradition for our journal was done Ptolemy, Abu Ali, and after much thought, after all, the word can have many Lilly predict the 2008 U.S. meanings and be applied to all astrological ‘periods’, but Presidential Elections we thought it described our aim best. A little like passing By Maria João Mateus 05 the baton in a relay race, Tradition means a custom, belief or opinion handed down to posterity. It implies a sense Judging Temperament (Part I) of continuity, and indeed it is the purpose of this journal a study of the method to hand down the wisdom of the ancient astrologers to our readers in a clear and practical language. Our scope By Luís Ribeiro, AMA 20 is wide, from the Ancient Middle-East and Hellenistic Periods, to the Arabic and Christian Medieval, and the Modern Myths Early Modern authors of the 17th century. The Houses By Sue Ward 35 Each historical period has its own characteristics – political, social, religious, and so on – and the astrology Why don’t astrologers listen to of each period reflects those characteristics to some scientists? degree. Where these characteristics vary from culture Or: why it is rational for astrologers to ignore scientific and statistical research to culture, or period to period, we also find variety in into astrology astrological method and technique. We are interested in By Martien Hermes 39 finding the practical and philosophical core of each major astrological period and then identifying its development, Moving Towards Tradition or evolution, into the next. However, for all that, there considerations on the transition remains a unifying essence which runs throughout from contemporary astrology to the history and its discovery forms our goal in these pages, Traditional practice although this does not imply that we favour attempts to By Helena Avelar 51 fuse these methods, or ‘cherry pick’ techniques. Signatures: as above so below In order to achieve a deeper understanding of the By Oscar Hofman 56 astrological system as a whole, it is of paramount importance that the scattered resources of the Tradition Catherine of Braganza be recovered and reassembled. We know that much is the childless queen of Charles II By Helena Avelar & Luís Ribeiro 64 All articles reflect the view of the authors. The publishers assume no responsibility for articles or material contained therein, or for goods and services advertised. For information about contributions and For Posterity article guidelines please visit our site: www.thetraditionjournal.com Francis Bernard No part of this publication may reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the By Sue Ward 68 publisher. Copyright © 2008 The Tradition, all rights reserved the Tradition EDITORIAL lost to us, but that shouldn’t prevent the attempt. Editors Some achievements have already been made in this regard, but a more accessible platform is needed for the publication of this research. This journal Helena Avelar intends to become that platform, thus creating Luís Ribeiro opportunities for authors and researchers of the Sue Ward Tradition to publish their material without the restrictions found in wider ranging astrological Design and Layout publications. This way, we hope to encourage the research and study of the Art, serving as a primary point of reference for those interested in Luís Ribeiro the Tradition. Contributors This is a publication entirely dedicated to Traditional Western Predictive Astrology. By Maria João Mateus choosing the digital format we avoid restrictions of size and distribution, as well as making it easily Oscar Hofman available in any part of the world. This first issue is Martien Hermes free of charge, and subsequent issues will have the nominal cost of 5€ (approximately $7.4 or £4). As the editors’ work is entirely voluntary, all profits from the journal will be given to charity. We’ll supply full details in the next issue. The journal is bi-annual, and it will be issued near each Equinox, around the 15th of March and September. It can be acquired from our website: www.thetraditionjournal.com So here it is, The Tradition, our commitment to astrology. We offer a warm welcome to all our readers and hope that you will support us in our work and enjoy reading what you find here. 4 the Tradition ARTICLE Ptolemy, Abu Ali, and Lilly predict Maria J. Mateus the 2008 U.S. Presidential Elections n May 20, 2008, a panel of astrologers presented an analysis Oand predictions for the upcoming 2008 presidential elections as part of the United Astrology Conference (UAC) in Denver. The panel consisted of seven renowned astrologers, all experts in different traditions and using a variety of methods from which to draw their conclusions. The discussion began with each astrologer giving a brief outline of the techniques used and charts they had examined. Several of them began with a disclaimer attesting to the fact that the available birth times for all three of the current presidential candidates (i.e. John McCain, Maria J. Mateus is a practicing astrolo- Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama) were somewhat tentative. ger, writer, and instructor with a deep Despite the uncertain data, the astrologers proceeded to outline interest in astrological research, history, and ancient techniques. their rationale and draw their conclusions. Using different methods, the panel unanimously predicted a presidential She graduated with a B.A. in psycholo- victory for Barack Obama, although some expressed concern gy from the University of Texas and with a M.A. from Kepler College of Astrologi- about the possibility of election deceit. cal Arts and Sciences. While it is possible to objectively test astrological predictions, Her written work has been published in The Mountain Astrologer, The Astrologi- the process of doing astrology is not an objective one. It is very cal Journal of Great Britain, The Encyclo- difficult for astrologers to be completely impartial and to pedia of Astrology, and in several other divorce themselves from their own political leanings. As Lee print and online publications. Lehman noted in her quantitative research on presidential 1 Readers may contact her via e-mail at: election predictions astrologers as a group tend to make the [email protected]. call for whom they would like to see in the White House rather than who will actually win. To remedy this, Lehman developed a statistical model that predicts that the Republicans will retain the White House this year despite her own personal preferences to the contrary. But models derived from population outcomes are always probabilistic statements. This year, her model says, there is a better than chance probability that McCain will win the White House. This of course does not mean that he will. The lack of agreement between the UAC panel and Lehman’s conclusions is somewhat unsatisfying. In its Babylonian origins, astrology began as a system designed to predict the will of the CONtacts: gods with regard to the communal fate. It seems that after E-mail: [email protected] millennia of doing this, we should have gotten the mundane aspect of our discipline down to a science. And yet, according to Charles E. O. Carter, who studied the state of mundane 5 the Tradition ARTICLE astrology in the 1950s, “we have no reason to According to Lehman, from 1900 to 2004 the congratulate ourselves upon our achievements in following charts yielded these correct outcomes: this field.”2 At the root of this problem is the fact Jupiter/Mars conjunctions, 55%; Mars/Saturn that predicting outer world events has not been conjunctions, 57%; the sunrise chart of election a goal of most astrologers since the Renaissance. day 68%; the midnight chart of election day 66%; Modern astrology has embraced the assessment the solar eclipse chart prior to election, 50%; the of personality and psychological dynamics as its lunation chart prior to election, 70%; the Libra primary purpose, and consequently its techniques Ingress chart prior to election, 38% wrong (or 62% have developed in line with those objectives. correct by reversal); the Electoral College day at Extending these personality methods to political noon chart, 55%; and the Inauguration day chart event prediction has not always yielded fruitful 49%. While the model predicts a better than chance results. victory for McCain this year on some of these mundane charts, given that the percentages for By contrast, there is in fact a long tradition of the accuracy of some of the charts are rather low, political astrology and an array of techniques that their sample sizes are small, and given the designed to predict outer world affairs. The multivariable nature of astrological interpretation, question is whether they have been successfully the conclusions to be drawn are probably not used for predicting elections? The answer is no. Not statistically significant. Yet Lehman’s research is because the methods were necessarily faulty, but valuable in that it indicates that the strength of the because they were not devised to address electoral 1st and 7th rulers of many of the traditionally used politics. Although the practice of electing leaders is mundane charts do not appear to relate to election not unheard of prior to the modern age, Traditional outcomes any better than chance. For example, astrology evolved at a time when rulership was solar eclipse charts, or the charts for the moments primarily inherited through monarchy or taken of Mars conjunctions may have little to say through empire-building. Because of this, it is about who will win a particular political contest. understandable that Lehman’s model adapted This information is valuable because it tells us the astrology of Medieval contests, commonly something about our assumptions regarding the used to predict the outcomes of wars, not of information that particular mundane charts might elections.